Sisters of Night
by Parsec
Summary: A new neighbor moves in across the street from the girls...but what secrets does she hold?
1. Chapter 1

Sisters of Night

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 1 

            The City of Townsville, on a quiet evening in the neighborhood of the Utonium residence.  Quiet, except for a truck that pulled up to the house across the street.  The moving men climbed out of the truck and started to unload boxes, carrying them over to the house.  From their side of the street, the girls peered out of the bedroom windows to watch as the men carried out their task.  "That's the fourth truck today," Buttercup mentioned.  "It's dark out…are they going to be doing this all night?"

            "Looks like it," Blossom nodded.  "Maybe our new neighbors will be moving pretty soon, then.  Just _look _at all those boxes…"

            Bubbles remarked, "I don't see any toys…I don't think they have kids…"

            "I hope they're nice people at least," Blossom said.

            The professor appeared at the doorway, looking at the girls pressed up against the glass.  He smiled and entered the room, saying, "Girls, it's almost time for bed.  What are you doing?"

            Bubbles looked back at the professor and said, "Another truck 'cross the street…"

            "Oh really now?" the professor said.  "I'm interested to see just what our new neighbor is going to be like.  I haven't had the chance to meet her yet."

            "Neighbor?" Blossom asked.  "There's only one?"

            Nodding, the professor said, "I heard that she moved here from Citiesville.  Probably wanted a taste of good old suburban living.  Not that I blame her; Citiesville can be a rough place to live, especially on your own like that…"

            "Ooh!  I see something!" Bubbles said pointing at the glass.  The girls looked out and saw what she was pointing at: a black sedan had just pulled into the driveway next to the truck.  A few moments later, a woman got out…she was about the same height as the professor, and had long brunette hair, tied back into a ponytail.  Her dress was a deep blue, and even though they could barely make it out at this distance, it matched the color of her eyes almost perfectly.  She was quite beautiful, even in the dim light of the street.

            "Hey, let's go welcome her!" Blossom exclaimed, turning quickly and tugging on the professor's coat.  "Can we?"

            The professor thought about it and said, "I don't know…it's pretty late, and you should really get ready for bed.  But…ah, what the heck, it's the friendly thing to do!"  The girls cheered, and went downstairs with the professor, heading for the front door.

            Outside, the woman was just signing something on a clipboard for the movers when they crossed the street, heading over to greet her.  She looked up and saw them approach, and smiled.  Even her smiles seemed radiant in the dark.  She said, "Oh!  You must be my new neighbors!"

            "That's us!  We live across the street over there!" Buttercup said.

            Bubbles happily added, "Welcome to the neighborhood!  You'll just love it here!"

            Nodding, Blossom asked, "Did you have a good trip?  What's your name?"

            "Whoa whoa, easy now, girls," the professor said, holding out his hands.  "Give _her_ a chance to speak, won't you?"  He looked back and the woman and smiled sheepishly, saying, "Sorry about that…my name's Professor Utonium.  My girls and I would like to welcome you to Townsville, Ms…?"

            "Kimball," she answered.  "Ginela Kimball.  My, you have such darling children, Professor!  You take care of them all by yourself?"

            The professor scratched his head idly, and said, "Well, y--…I mean, of course, I…heh…"

            Ginela had already crouched down and was taking a closer look at them, "What are you names?"

            Blossom spoke up first, "My name's Blossom!"

            "I'm Buttercup," Buttercup quickly added.

            Bubbles smiled, "And I'm Bubbles!"

            "Blossom, Bu—…" Ginela said, trailing off.  She suddenly stood up and said with some enthusiasm, "Wait, _now_ I remember where I've heard your name before, Professor!  These must be the famous Powerpuff Girls, aren't they?"

            "That's my girls," the professor said, proudly.

            Ginela seemed impressed, "That's so amazing!  I heard about them from Citiesville, although the people _there _were always saying some rather nasty things about them.  _I _had the feeling that they deserved better than that…and you know, seeing them in person, I can tell that I was right."

            "Well, Ms. Kimball, I…" the professor started to say.

            "Ginela…please, call me Ginela," she corrected him.

            Smiling, the professor said, "Oh…okay, Ginela…I, uh…"

            Blossom flew up and gently nudged him, whispering, "Invite her to dinner!"

            The professor snapped out of his trance and said, "Anyway, Ms. Ki—…err, Ginela…I was wondering if you'd like to join us at our home for dinner one evening.  As a welcome-to-the-neighborhood kind of thing…"

            "I'd love to," Ginela replied.  "Oh…when, though?"

            "Well, how about tomorrow at, say, six o'clock?" the professor suggested.

            Ginela saddened a little, "I'm so sorry…I can't.  I forgot to mention…my new job here in Townsville is a network administrator, and I work the midnight shift.  I had the same position in Citiesville, so I'm used to sleeping during the day…"

            "You only work at night?" Bubbles asked.  "Don't you get scared of the dark?!"

            Ginela chuckled a little and said, "Not at all.  You have to look at it from a different perspective…I love watching stars, and this way, I can watch them all the time."

            "I guess…" Bubbles said, although she was still uncomfortable about the idea of being awake all through the night, being out in the dark.  _Scary, _she thought, _I hope I never have to get a job like that when I get older…_

            The professor thought for a moment, and then suggested, "Perhaps later, then?  My girls are usually in bed, but I suppose they can stay up late for one evening."

            "That's fine," Ginela said with a smile.  "Tomorrow at, say, ten o'clock?"

            "Okay!" the professor agreed.

            Nodding, Ginela glanced at her watch and said, "Oh my…it's getting late, I need to arrange a few things in my house before I head off to my first night of work.  It was a pleasure meeting you, Professor…"  She looked down at the girls, "…and you too as well, Powerpuff Girls!"

            "Have a good night!" Blossom said.

            Buttercup added, "Yeah, see you tomorrow!"

            Ginela turned and walked back for her house.  The movers had already finished unpacking, and the truck had just pulled out.  As the professor and the girls started back for their own home, Bubbles gave a worried glance back at Ginela, asking, "She really stays out at night?  All the time?"

            "Some jobs have to be worked late at night like this, Bubbles," the professor explained.  "It's not easy, but someone has to take care of it.  After a little while, they really don't even know the difference.  I'll bet you didn't know, but _I _used to work a midnight shift once myself, a few years back…"

            "Really?" Blossom said.

            The professor nodded, "It took me a little bit to get used to, but I managed.  And Ms. Kimball is right…getting to watch the stars every evening _is _a little bit of an advantage."

            "Yeah," Buttercup said, smirking.  "It'd be cool to get a job like that, wouldn't it?"

            "No…" Bubbles insisted, shaking her head.  The went back into the house, but Bubbles paused for a moment to look across the street again.  She could tell that Ginela was a nice person and everything, but working a night shift…there was just something unsettling about it to her.  _The only things out at night are monsters and criminals, _she thought, _and since she's no monster…_

*          *            *

            The girls set the table carefully, with five places this time instead of the usual four.  Everything was perfect, including the flowers in the middle.  The professor himself was in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches on some roast chicken, as Blossom went over the final details to make sure it was all perfect.  She yawned…it was later than she usually stayed up, but it wasn't too bad, not much different than the occasional late-night crimefighting.

            "How's it look?" Buttercup asked, carrying in a plate of vegetables from the kitchen.

            "Great!" Blossom answered.  "We're all set!"

            Bubbles, in the meantime, was staring out the front window at the house.  She had settled down a bit during the day over the whole thing, but the darkness still frightened her.  Noticing the shape of Ginela coming out of the house in the dark, she thought, _Look at her, she's not bothered at all by it!  You know…maybe she's right, and I should just look at this a better way.  If she can do it, then I can, too!_

            Suddenly remembering why she was looking out the window in the first place, Bubbles called out, "She's coming!"  The professor came out of the kitchen, and the girls flew over to the front door, waiting for her arrival.  A few moments later, there was a knock, and the Professor took a deep breath and answered it.

            Ginela was standing there…even though she wasn't elegantly dressed or anything, since this was just a casual dinner, she still looked stunning in the dress that she _did _wear.  It was a deep blue, matching her eyes just as well as the one she wore the other day.  "Good evening, Professor!  And hello again, girls!" she said.

            "Hello, Ms. Kimball!" the girls said together.

            "Please, come in, Ginela," the professor responded.  "Dinner is all set."

            Ginela followed him into to dining room, and Blossom flew over, pulling her chair back so that she could sit down.  "Why, thank you!" Ginela said, as the girls took their own places at the table.  The professor returned from the kitchen with dinner, bringing it out to the table.

            "I'm happy you could make it," the professor said.  "I know how demanding a job like yours must be."

            "Oh, you have _no _idea," Ginela said, carefully taking a serving of the food.  "So, Professor…what is it that _you _do, exactly?  I'm afraid that the news about you I heard in Citiesville didn't really say much about _you_…"

            The professor thought and said, "Well, I…do science, of course.  Besides working out of my lab here at home, I teach at an institute in Townsville."

            "Judging by the look of this place, you make a lot of money doing it," Ginela remarked, motioning towards some of the paintings hanging on the wall, and other furnishings across the room.

            "I suppose a little," the professor shrugged.  "Most of it comes from my job, and a few patents here and there."

            Blossom asked Ginela, "So what is it you do again?"

            "Network administration," Ginela answered.  "There's a company downtown that hired me; they run their network 24/7, and were willing to pay me a lot better than I was making back in Citiesville, so I decided to take the offer, naturally.  I'm glad I did…if you four are any indication, Townsville will be a great place to live."

            Buttercup nodded, "Yeah, 'cept for the giant monsters and bad guys and stuff.  But that's what _we're _here for!"

            The professor lifted another forkful of his food up, stopping to ask, "What company do you work for?"

            "Oh…" Ginela said, stopping for a moment to think.  "…Globalsys.  At their headquarters."

            Bubbles blinked a few times, wondering briefly why Ginela had hesitated, but she dismissed it and said, "You might wanna be careful working there.  The building had to be fixed twice from monster attacks already."

            "Okay, thanks for the warning," Ginela said, "but I think I'll be fine.  I like to think that I'm a lucky person.  Besides, I'll bet these monsters only attack during the day, don't they?"  As the nods around the table, she added, "Then I should be okay.  Professor, this chicken is delicious, you _must _give me your recipe for it sometime!"

            "Certainly!" the professor said.  "I spend a lot of late nights working in my lab, so feel free to call me from work if you'd like."

            Ginela smiled, "I think I'll take you up on that."  Both Blossom and Buttercup smiled in response also, but Bubbles still seemed troubled.  _Something's weird,_ she thought.  _She's not afraid of the dark, and now she's not afraid of monsters?  Either she's really good at not being scared, or something's not right…but what?_  Either way, she kept the rest of her thoughts to herself as the dinner progressed…

*          *            *

            Barely a couple hours later, as the girls were just falling asleep, Bubbles stirred…she was thirsty, and got up to get a glass of water from downstairs.  As she was heading back for the staircase, she glanced out of the front window of the house, and saw the front door opening across the street.  She curiously floated over to the window to look out.  It was Ginela, of course, probably getting ready to drive into town to her job.

            There was something different about her, though…Bubbles couldn't quite figure out what it was, until she realized that Ginela had changed into an all-black dress, instead of the blue ones she was wearing the last few times she saw her.  _That's a weird dress to be wearing,_ she thought.  _Unless…black makes criminals harder to see at night.  No, wait…Ginela's such a nice lady, why would she be a criminal?  But…what other explanation is there?_

            Ginela glanced around a few times, as though making sure no one was watching, then got into her black sedan and started to drive off.  Bubbles narrowed her eyes and headed for the front door.  _That's it, _she thought.  _I'm following her…if she goes to her job, then I guess everything's all right, but if not…_  As the car pulled away, she slipped out the door, nightgown and all, and flew up into the air, following her from a distance, unseen from above.

            The car headed into Townsville, making a few turns at various streets.  It took Bubbles a moment to realize that she wasn't heading anywhere _near _the Globalsys building.  _I knew it!  Where are you heading, Ms. Kimball?  Planning a late-night robbery of the bank?  Or the museum?  Betcha didn't know someone was following you, huh?  You won't get away with it, whatever you're doing!_

            Bubbles kept up her pursuit, even though the path Ginela was taking through the city seemed to become more and more random.  This started to confuse Bubbles even more.  Finally, after about fifteen more minutes of following, Bubbles spotted an alley up ahead that some woman had just turned down, probably on her way home.  Ginela quickly parked the car on the side of the street and got out, heading for the same alley.

_            She's just looking for people to mug?_ Bubbles thought.  It just didn't make any sense, but Bubbles decided to follow just the same.  She flew silently over to the edge of the alley, and peeked in.  Both of them had already disappeared around a bend in the alley, so Bubbles drifted forward, staying quiet and listening for any sign of trouble.

            It didn't take long…there was a very brief, short scream, and it didn't sound like Ginela either.  Gritting her teeth, Bubbles thought, _That's it,_ and quickly flew around the corner, shouting, "All right, stop right th—…"

            Bubbles stopped, and gasped.  Ginela's back was to her, but she was leaned over the woman that had run down the alley, holding her in her arms.  Her head was bent down, against the side of her neck, yet the woman wasn't struggling in any way, like she was paralyzed.  As Bubbles watched, Ginela lifted her head, and partially turned to face Bubbles…her face no longer carried the friendly expression she had been wearing before, but instead, it looked darker, more menacing.  A trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth, and she glared at Bubbles with a chilling, evil stare.

            "Wh…wha…" Bubbles started to say, but Ginela dropped the woman in the next second and charged.  Before she could say another word, Bubbles was slammed up against the side of the alley, face-to-face with her in shock…she was so strong!  As Bubbles tried to make out something else to say, Ginela pulled her away from the wall, ramming her face down into the ground.

            Trying to regain her strength so she could get away, Bubbles started to get up, but couldn't, as the grasp on her was unbreakable.  She looked out of the corner of her eye in fear as Ginela leaned down, lowering her head next to Bubbles' and speaking in a low, quiet hiss, "So you don't like the night?  Now, you will learn to love it, as it will be your only refuge…"  She moved lower, smiling, and Bubbles caught a brief glint of light from a pair of fangs before she cried out at the top of her lungs…a cry that lasted only a moment before being silenced…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	2. Chapter 2

Sisters of Night

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 2 

            "Where _is_ she?" Blossom asked as they searched throughout the entire house.  They still couldn't find Bubbles anywhere.  When the two of them awoke in the morning to find her missing, they began their search, but it turned up nothing, not a single clue to where she had gone.

            Buttercup emerged from the lab with the professor and called out, "Blossom, she's not in the lab…"

            "I don't understand it," Blossom said, shaking her head.  "Were could she have gone?"

            "Did you find anything upstairs?" the professor asked.

            Shaking her head, Blossom answered, "Nothing…but I noticed that her nightgown is missing.  Maybe she's still wearing it, which means she didn't change into her regular clothes."

            "I'm worried," the professor said.  "She could be in danger.  This is exactly why I told you girls never to go off on your own, especially at night like that."

            Blossom started to head for the front door and said, "At least it's Saturday.  We can look for her right away…c'mon!"  Buttercup followed her outside, and they began heading towards the city.

            "Where do we even start looking?" Buttercup asked.  "She could be _anywhere_ out here…"

            Blossom peered across the city and said, "We'll start at the most obvious places.  Maybe Mojo captured her or something.  I'll start look in the center of the city, beginning with Mojo, and you check in with the Mayor to see if he's seen her, all right?"

            "Right!" Buttercup answered, and the two of them split off in their own directions to carry out their own tasks.  Blossom watched her leave in the distance before continuing on her way to Mojo's observatory.  _Bubbles,_ she thought, _wherever you are, I hope you're safe…_

*          *            *

            The hours passed as they went through the city, searching everywhere that they possibly could.  Once the Mayor had learned of Bubbles' disappearance, he had the police force aid in the search, but they couldn't find any leads.  Nobody had seen her since at least the day before.  Their worry started to turn into panic.

            Late afternoon, the police had found something, and both Blossom and Buttercup were immediately called to the spot.  It was in an alley behind some buildings.  When they arrived, Blossom saw the police huddled around something…she bit her lip and said, "O-okay…what did you find?"

            They cleared some room for her so that she could see.  She was relieved that it wasn't Bubbles, like she thought for a moment it might be.  It was something else, though…an indent in the ground that looked like something had impacted, heavily enough to make the mark.  Next to the indent was a few tiny drops of blood, and a small, torn piece of cloth.  As Blossom landed on the ground next to it to take a better look, Buttercup asked, "What does this have to do with Bubbles?"

            "It looks like there were signs of a fight," Blossom pointed out, as she knelt down to pick up the piece of cloth.  She held it up for Buttercup to see, and added, "Take a look…does the color look familiar?"

            "Well, it…_is_ the right blue color, but that doesn't mean…" Buttercup said.

            "It's also the right kind of fabric," Blossom said.  "This is from Bubbles, I _know_ it is."

            Glancing down at the drops of blood, Buttercup said, "You don't think…you don't think that the _blood_ is her's _too_, do you?"

            "Maybe," Blossom answered, now a little shaken.  "But what could be strong enough to hurt one of us like that?  I don't know if I want to find out…"

            Buttercup frowned, "Well, _I _do.  We're gonna have to, if we wanna find Bubbles!"

            Getting back to her feet, Blossom nodded, "You're right.  Let's try to figure out where this thing went, all right?  Maybe someone saw something…"  With a nod, Buttercup followed her back out of the alley, and the two of them set out around the streets, looking for anything similar in other alleys.  Signs of struggle, marks of blood, anything…

*          *            *

            Night fell quickly, and the girls were forced to give up their search for the time being.  It was all they had done all day, and they had gotten tired, and hungry.  They returned home to tell the professor what they found…he hadn't gotten any solid leads either.  They took a break to eat something, although as hungry as they were, they couldn't really focus on eating.  All they could think about was Bubbles.

            "I can't believe the police can't find _one_ person," Buttercup growled, pounding the table once with her fist.  "Some help _they_ turned out to be."

            "It's one little girl in an entire city," the professor reminded her.  "We don't even know if she's still _in _the city, either."  He glanced down at the ground as he spoke, and they could see that he was trying not to be completely broken up over this.

            Blossom tried to be comforting as she said, "We'll find her, she'll be okay.  Bubbles is tough, you know…she's a Powerpuff Girl, after all!"

            "Yeah…" Buttercup said, settling down a little.  "But still…man…"

            Everything fell silent around the table, as everyone was lost in thought.  The silence hung in the air for a few moments, but it was suddenly broken by another sound: the sound of the front door slamming shut.  The three of them, startled, hopped out of their seats and ran to the doorway to see what it was.

            Bubbles hovered there, still in her nightgown.  Her hair was a little mussed up, but not too badly.  She wore a frown, and her skin seemed slightly pale, as though she had just been sleeping in the cold.  There was a small tear in her nightgown up near the arm, obviously where the piece of cloth they had found had been ripped off.  When Blossom and Buttercup saw her, they both shouted together, "_Bubbles!_"

            "Hi," Bubbles simply replied.

            The professor ran past the other two and grabbed Bubbles out of the air, hugging her tightly, "Oh, Bubbles…I was so afraid…you were missing the whole day…I-I didn't know what to think…"  After holding the embrace for another moment or so, he released her and gave a stern look, "Where have you been, young lady?"

            "Does it matter?" Bubbles answered.  "I'm here _now_, aren't I?"  She turned away and started for the stairs.

            She didn't make it far, though, because Buttercup flew over, blocking her path, "_Oh_ no you don't!  You're gonna tell us what you were doin' all day…_now!_"

            Bubbles stopped and stared her right in the eyes, saying, "Or what?"  Buttercup stared back, but didn't have an answer, so Bubbles continued past her, and went upstairs.  Everyone watched as she disappeared into their room and shut the door behind her.

            "Geez, what's _her_ problem?" Buttercup said, folding her arms.

            "I'm going to go talk to her," the professor said.  "I've got to get to the bottom of this."

            Blossom started for the steps, saying, "No wait, let me…if anything's wrong, I'm sure she'd let me know."  The professor hesitated, then nodded, and Blossom continued the rest of the way upstairs, as the other two waited.  She slowly opened the door to the room and went inside.

            Over by one of the windows, Bubbles was hovering with her hands clasped behind her back, staring out into the darkness outside.  As Blossom approached, she looked back over her shoulder and said, "What do _you_ want?"

            "Listen…Bubbles…" Blossom said, carefully flying over and landing on the edge of the bed.  Bubbles looked back out of the window as she continued, "We were really worried about you, you know.  Gone the whole day without a trace…and then we found that ripped piece of your nightgown, and some blood…we didn't know what happened to you, and we were afraid you'd been hurt…"

            Bubbles continued to stare out the window…unknown to Blossom, she wasn't looking out at the night, but rather, across the street, where Ginela was looking back at her from the window.  Ginela nodded, and Bubbles smiled slightly.  She finally turned away from the window and said, "I'm not hurt, and you can see that.  So what does it matter where I went?"

            "It matters to us!" Blossom insisted.  "You're our _sister_…we at least deserve to know what happened."

            "Oh, _do_ you, now…" Bubbles frowned.  "What if I said it's none of your business?"

            Blossom waited for a moment before saying, "That's a lie, and you know it.  You're hiding something, and I want to know what it is, for your own good."

            "Well, that's too bad," Bubbles said.  She turned to face the window and pushed it open.  "I'm leaving…"

            "Wait!  Where are you going?" Blossom said, flying up off the bed in alarm.

            Bubbles stopped halfway out the window and said, "I _told_ you…none of your business!"  She took off immediately, flying off towards Townsville.  Blossom gritted her teeth and flew out the window after her, thinking, _That's it…I'm going to find out what's going on one way or another…_

            It wasn't hard to track Bubbles through the night sky, due to the light trail she was leaving in her wake.  She was definitely heading into the city.  As Blossom followed, Bubbles glanced behind her for a moment and, realizing that she was being pursued, started descending towards the rooftops.  Blossom angled down to follow.

            Touching down on the rooftop, Bubbles spun around and shouted, "I said, leave me _alone!_"

            "No!" Blossom called down, just before she landed.  She took a few steps across the rooftop towards her and said, "This has gone far enough, Bubbles!  I demand to know what happened last night!  Where were you?"

            Bubbles stared silently back, and finally asked, "You really want to know?"  When Blossom nodded, she continued, "Fine…believe it or not, I was planning on telling you anyway…"

            "Sure, so what happened?" Blossom asked.

            Bubbles walked up to her, placing a hand on Blossom's shoulder, almost as though in comfort, and said, "Something like this…"  She suddenly pulled her fist back and slammed it into her face, sending her tumbling across the rooftop.  By the time Blossom came to a stop, near the edge, she sat up, rubbing her head and blinking in surprise as Bubbles slowly walked over, crossing the distance between them.

            "Huh?  Bubbles, wh-what's going on?" Blossom demanded, but before she could say another word, Bubbles crossed the rest of the distance in the blink of an eye, grabbing onto her arm and swinging her overhead, slamming her into the ground.  Blossom groaned out in pain as she impacted, and shook her head to try to clear it.

            Bubbles just folder her arms and said with an evil smile, "Don't blame me, you asked for it."

            Taking off from the rooftop and hovering in the air, Blossom said through her clenched teeth, "That's it!"  She flew towards her sister, swinging a punch, but Bubbles easily dodged it to one side, without so much as changing her expression.  Blossom quickly followed it up with a few more punches, although each one was dodged similarly.  _Wha?_ Blossom thought.  _How did she get so fast?_

            One of her punches finally connected, but it barely forced Bubbles back a step…she just smiled back as Blossom gaped, then Bubbles swept her feet out from under her in a single quick kick.  Blossom landed on her back on the rooftop, cringing from the hit.  Before she could try anything else, Bubbles grabbed onto her arm and hoisted her to her feet, spinning her around and grabbing her tightly from behind.

            "Stop it!" Blossom cried out as she struggled.  "I-I don't know how you got so strong, b-but…"

            "But what?" Bubbles interrupted, looking around from the side so that Blossom could see her.  "You wanted to know…so I'm showing you…"

            Bubbles smiled wider, and Blossom saw something sticking out of her mouth that wasn't there before…something that looked like fangs.  Blossom stared open-mouthed, and stammered, "Wh…th…B-Bubbles…wh-what…h-happened to…you…?"

            "Same thing that's happening to you…" Bubbles hissed.  She moved her head around to the back again, forcing Blossom to tilt her head to the side.  Blossom screamed in horror and tried to struggle free, but Bubbles' grip was far too strong.  She couldn't get free, and in the next moment, Bubbles clamped down, her fangs sinking deeply into her neck.  Blossom's cry was cut short, and she clamped her eyes shut, but her mouth still hung silently open in a silent scream.  The only sound now was the soft slurping sound of Bubbles drawing the blood out from Blossom's body.  They stayed locked in that position for almost a whole minute, and Blossom struggled less and less, until eventually she fell limp in Bubbles' arms.

            Pulling free, Bubbles unceremoniously dumped Blossom's body to the rooftop, wiping her mouth off with the back of her other hand and sighing in contentment.  She stared down at her motionless frame, waiting…

            Eventually, Blossom stirred…her arm moved slightly, and Bubbles smiled.  Blossom pulled both of her arms back, pushing herself up from the roof and slowly lifting her head.  Her eyes opened, and she smiled…an evil smile, not unlike the one Bubbles wore…and her smile, like Bubbles', now contained a small pair of fangs.

            "Welcome back, sis," Bubbles said.  "How do you feel?"

            Blossom got back to her feet, and looked down at her hands…her skin now had a pallor like Bubbles.  "It's amazing," she said.  "How did you…?"

            "Ginela," Bubbles explained.  "When I followed her last night, she showed me her true self…a vampire, a creature of the night.  And she passed it on to me, as well…"

            "I feel…I feel so much more…powerful…" Blossom said, flexing her arms a little.

            "It only gets better," Bubbles said, circling around in front of her.  "Just wait until you learn what it's like to feed on blood, the pleasure of its taste…there's nothing like it in the world…"

            Blossom looked out over the city, tilting her head slightly and saying, "Show me more…"  Bubbles nodded, and lifted off from the roof.  Blossom followed close behind, and the two of them headed off deeper into the unknowing city, in search of people to feed on.  All became still and quiet as they left.

            Only for a moment, though, because from one of the buildings adjacent to the one they were just at, Buttercup peeked over the edge of rooftop.  She hadn't seen much of what happened, only a little at the very end, but she was glad she followed.  The two looked like they were up to something.  Bubbles was leading Blossom somewhere, and the only thing she had caught with her ultrasonic hearing after she showed up was Blossom going, "Show me more…"  _What's the big secret?_ she thought.  _Well, that's it…I'm going to follow you and find out for myself…_

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	3. Chapter 3

Sisters of Night

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 3 

            Blossom and Bubbles flew high overhead, surveying Townsville from above…Buttercup stayed low near the rooftops behind them to keep from being spotted.  _Where are they going?_ she wondered.  _They're acting weirder than usual…I would've expected Bubbles to be back home by now.  She _hates_ it when it's dark like this.  So what's going on?  It looks like they're looking for something…  _She continued her pursuit, making sure that she had a place to take cover in case they spotted her.

            After a few minutes of looking, Bubbles pointed below, and Blossom nodded.  They both shot down out of the sky, heading for a couple of buildings.  Buttercup watched, and saw that they weren't heading for the buildings themselves, but rather, an alley between them.  She moved in closer as the two of them disappeared into it.  Landing next to the opening on the street, she peeked around the corner into the alley to see what they were up to.

            A man and woman were heading for the opposite end of the alley, probably using it as a shortcut on their way home from somewhere.  Blossom and Bubbles approached them from behind where they couldn't see.  In a sudden, quick move, Blossom grabbed the man from behind, and Bubbles followed suit with the woman.  The couple yelped in surprise…Buttercup gritted her teeth and thought, _What are they doing?  That's it, I'm gonna stop whatever it is they're…_

            Before she could move, though, she saw something that made her freeze in place.  Both of them suddenly bared a set of fangs and bit down on the people's necks.  Buttercup stared in shock, and could do nothing else but watch as her sisters continued to draw blood from them.  Both of the people eventually went limp, and were dropped to the ground a moment later, out cold.

            Blossom licked her fangs and remarked, "You're right…that's amazing…"

            "Yes," Bubbles nodded.  "And it's only the beginning…"

            Buttercup stopped looking down the alley and pressed her back up against the wall, trying to steady her breathing.  She couldn't believe what she had just seen…it was impossible.  _Oh man,_ she thought…_oh man, this is not good…how did they become vampires?  What do I do?!_

            She took a step back towards alley to peek in, and her foot skidded across the pavement for a moment.  Both Blossom and Bubbles lifted their heads slightly like they had heard, and then looked towards the entrance.  Buttercup ducked back, but she realized that she was probably seen.  This was confirmed when she heard them start flying a moment later.

            "Oh _crud…_" Buttercup whispered to herself, and immediately took off down the street.  She glanced behind her, and sure enough, she saw the two of them chasing after her.  Despite her lead, they were slowly gaining, too.  _H-how'd they get so fast?!_ Buttercup thought.  _I'm gonna have to do something to lose them!_  She spotted an opportunity ahead of her, another alley, and quickly turned down it.

            She only made it about halfway down the alley, though, before a streak of blue shot past her and stopped in front of her.  With Bubbles blocking her path, Buttercup knew that Blossom was probably right behind her, too.  Instead of stopping, she pulled a tight turn and started flying upwards instead, taking off out of the alley and back into the sky.  Looking down as she gained some distance, she thought, _Hah, you weren't expecting _that_, were you?_

            Unfortunately, they were, because she ended up flying directly into Blossom's arms, who was waiting for her above.  As Buttercup looked stunned, Blossom grinned at her and said, "Come on, you didn't expect to get away from _both_ of us, did you?"  Buttercup struggled, but Blossom was just too strong.  She knew she had to break free quickly, or it was all over for her.  Blossom was already beginning to bare her fangs…

            With a cry of rage, Buttercup swung both of her feet up, slamming them as hard as she could into Blossom.  It worked…her grip slackened just enough so that she could make a break for it.  Dropping down to the street, she flew low and desperately looked for somewhere to hide.  Darting between two buildings, she spotted an open door leading into a warehouse, out of view of the street.  This was her best bet, so she went in, quickly.

            She stopped and listened.  She could still hear them flying around outside, probably combing the area for her.  There's no way she'd find this place by chance, though…landing on the ground, she leaned up against a pillar to catch her breath.  She was already tired from the search they had conducted all during the day, and she still hadn't eaten anything all day, so she was already weak before this.  The kick she used to get free from Blossom had taken everything she had left out of her.  _They're so strong now,_ Buttercup thought.  _What am I gonna do?  Vampires…how can they be vampires?  They aren't real…_  She had seen a lot of vampire movies and stuff from sneaking downstairs late at night to watch TV, but she knew they were just to scare people.  But _this_…

            Buttercup was shaken out of her thoughts when she heard voices deeper in the warehouse.  She curiously walked over to see who it was, and peeking around the corner, she saw three men moving a stack of boxes to the other side of the room.  They all wore hoods over their heads, and looked like they were armed, too.  They were robbing the place…that's why the doors were open, she figured.  This suddenly worried her…what if the other girls notice the robbery and come to investigate?

            Before Buttercup could duck back under cover, though, one of the men spotted her.  He immediately pulled his pistol out in shock, and shouted, "It's the Powerpuff Girls!  Run fer it, boys!"

            _No, shut up, shut up!_ Buttercup thought furiously, ducking around the corner.  _They'll hear you!_  Then, as if the shout wasn't enough, Buttercup heard the man's gun fire, the bullet ricocheting off the wall where she had just been.  Her instincts wanted her to fly out and beat the stuffing out of those crooks, but instead, she started across the edge of the warehouse, trying to find a hiding place, since she knew the girls would be there any second.

            She only made it halfway…Blossom and Bubbles burst right in through the roof before she could get to safe cover.  The crooks spun around and started opening fire on them, but they didn't even seem to notice it.  Instead, they flew down and took out each of the crooks with a simple punch.  Buttercup tried to take advantage of the distraction by flying away, but she was still so tired…she only flew about a dozen feet before she had to land and catch her breath again.

            Bubbles looked over and smiled at Buttercup's attempts to get away.  She started over, saying, "Buttercup…you know there's no point in running…"

            "No, get away from me!" Buttercup exclaimed, scrambling away towards the nearest corner of the warehouse…her heart sank as she realized there was no escape.  No door or anything nearby.

            "You're trapped, Buttercup," Blossom told her, advancing calmly.  "Just give up…"

            Buttercup kept backing away, then tripped over a small crate she didn't see before.  She collapsed into the corner and stared up in horror as they both got closer.  Her back was pressed up against the wall now, and there was nowhere for her to go.  She was too tired to fight…it was hopeless.

            "Join us, Buttercup," Blossom said, smiling with her fangs.

            "Yes, Buttercup," Bubbles agreed with a similar smile.  "Join us…"

            Buttercup's eyes teared up.  "No…please…" she pleaded, her voice barely a whisper.  She didn't want to be like them, a soulless monster, feeding on people's blood…she didn't want to be like that, but there was no way out…

            "You have no choice," Bubbles told her, and started to reach for her.

            "_NO!!!!_" Buttercup yelled at the top of her lungs…she grabbed the little crate she had tripped over and threw it as her as hard as she could, even though she knew it wouldn't do any good.  Bubbles didn't even flinch as the crate was smashed to pieces against her.  It really looked like things were over now…until Bubbles suddenly started to choke, clenching her eyes shut.  Buttercup blinked a few times, and looked down at the smashed crate…as an incredible stroke of fortune, it had held a shipment of garlic.  As the smell of garlic now filled the air, Blossom winced and started to back off, and Bubbles began to stumble back as well.

            Thinking quickly, Buttercup quickly scooped up one of the garlic cloves and held it out, and the girls shrank back from it, turning their heads away.  "Don't like it, do ya?" Buttercup said, getting back to her feet and taking a step towards them.  "What's the matter?  C'mon!"  She thrust it out, waving it around in front of them…both Blossom and Bubbles turned and flew away as fast as they could, disappearing through the hole they made in the roof earlier.

            Buttercup waited until she was sure they were gone, then let out the breath she was holding, her legs shaking a little.  "Okay, settle down," she whispered to herself aloud, resting to recover her strength.  "They're vampires…but it's okay…you've seen a lot of vampire movies, right?  You know how to fight these things, even if they _are_ your sisters.  Just go back and get the professor's help with…"  She hesitated, and gasped as another thought struck her.  "Professor!!"

*          *            *

            The professor sat on the couch, reading a newspaper, and glanced at his watch.  It was getting really late, and the girls were all still out.  Bubbles was definitely acting peculiar earlier, but she knew that with here sisters there to help her, she'd be fine.  Still, it worried him that they'd be out for so long, especially since it was past their bedtime.  _I'll have to have a talk with them when they get back,_ he thought.  _If I let them stay up late too often, they'll start having sleeping problems at school again…_

            The phone suddenly rang.  He put the newspaper down and walked over to answer it, "Hello?"

            "Hello, Professor Utonium!" came a familiar voice on the other end.

            "Ginela!  What a surprise!" the professor exclaimed.  "How are you doing this evening?"

            Ginela giggled a little and said, "Not bad at all…I was wondering if you've eaten yet tonight.  I was just about to have dinner and thought you might like to join me…"

            The professor glanced over at the table in the other room, realizing that they _had_ skipped dinner because of the whole search for Bubbles.  "I'd love to…what are you having?"

            "Nothing special, just meatloaf," Ginela answered.  "But it's homemade."

            "Ginela, meatloaf sounds _wonderful_.  I'll be right over," the professor replied with a smile.

            "Okay, see you shortly!" Ginela said.  The professor hung up and casually straightened his tie as he headed for the front door.  _She's such a friendly neighbor, _he thought.  _I won't be gone long, and the girls will be okay…they always are._  He left the house and crossed the street over to Ginela's.

            She was already at the door, and opened it as he approached, "Professor, welcome!  Please, come in."

            "Thank you," the professor said, and entered the house.  He looked around at the décor, which was impressive, consisting of lots of pieces of art that looked like they came from all over the world.  "Wow, this place looks great!" he remarked.  "How did you ever manage to build a collection like this?"

            Closing the door behind them, Ginela said in a low voice, "It's easy, when you've got hundreds of years on your hands…"

            "Huh?" the professor said, not understanding.  When he turned around to look at Ginela again, her expression had changed…she was giving a malicious grin, and her fangs were now visible at the edges of her mouth.  "Y-you're…" the professor stammered.

            "That's right," Ginela said, taking a few slow steps towards him, which he responded to by stepping back.  She continued, "Citiesville was all right…as were some of the other places I've lived at around the world…but when I heard about the Powerpuff Girls, I knew I had found the perfect ones to pass my gift to…the vampire's kiss, as it were…"

            The professor continued to back up, and said, "No…that's impossible, vampires aren't real…"

            There was a quick movement of air that came from behind him, and he spun around to see Blossom and Bubbles flying in through an open window in the room.  Both of them wore dark expressions, but Bubbles smiled and said, "It's real, Professor."

            "Girls…" the professor said, and spotted their fangs as well a moment later.  He bit his lip and thought, _No…they can't be…_

            "I gave Bubbles the gift of immortality last night," Ginela said.  "I see she succeeded in passing it to Blossom as well."  She looked for a moment and added, "What about Buttercup?"

            "We're sorry, Ginela" Blossom said, shaking her head.  "She got away…"

            The professor felt a surge of relief, knowing that one of the girls was still okay.  Ginela didn't look as pleased, though, and demanded, "How did she escape?  You both should have been stronger than her."

            "She had garlic," Bubbles said, squinting a little as she remembered the foul scent of it.  Blossom nodded to confirm this.

            Ginela thought about this, and said, "No matter.  We'll just have to do something about that.  But there's nothing she can do to stop us, anyway.  You see, even if she could find a way to fight you two, or even myself, we have something that will make her give up immediately…"  She cast a slow glance over at the professor.

            He quickly turned to the girls and said, "Girls, please…don't listen to her!"

            "It won't do any good," Ginela told him.  "They're _mine_ now.  They are under my complete control.  And soon, Buttercup will be as well…it's only a matter of time…"

*          *            *

            Buttercup returned home, bursting in through the front door and calling out, "Professor?  _Professor?!_"  There was no answer, and she felt a chill as she realized he wasn't home.  She thought, _Oh man…geez…what happened?  Where'd he go?  I need his help!_  She started searching through the house, but her suspicions told her that she wouldn't find him anywhere.

            She spotted a blinking light next to the phone, though, from their caller-ID.  She checked it, and saw that he had received a call from Ginela barely a few minutes before she got home.  _Is that where he is?_ she thought.  _Maybe he's all right, then…or maybe…_

            The phone rang, startling her since she was right next to it.  She scooped it up quickly and said, "Hello?"

            "Buttercup," came Ginela's voice from the other end.  "Looking for the professor, are you?"

            Gritting her teeth in anger, she shouted, "_You're_ the vampire, _aren't_ you?  What did you do to him?!"

            "Relax, he's here…he's fine…" Ginela said.  "If you want him to stay that way, though, you'll give yourself up.  Otherwise, the next time you'll see him is in the next life…"

            Trying to control her anger, Buttercup said, "If you hurt him at all, I'll…"

            "Or maybe," Ginela said, interrupting, "I'll make him one of us.  He'll make a nice servant…"  Buttercup was too upset to reply, so Ginela continued.  "Because I have eternity on my hands already, I don't mind giving you a half-hour to decide.  If you don't surrender here by then…"  She gave a small laugh, and hung up.

            "_Wait!_" Buttercup cried out, but it was too late.  She slowly hung up the phone and closed her eyes, to hold in the tears that wanted to form.  _I can't do it, _she thought.  _But…it's the professor…if I don't…_  She lifted her head, opening her eyes again and setting her expression.  _No, I have to fight them!  That's the only way…I have to rescue the professor and fight them!  But…how?  They're so strong…and if Ginela was able to beat Bubbles, then she must be even stronger!  What do I do?_

Another thought occurred to her…_Wait a minute, if I know my vampire stories, in some of them, you can get vampires to turn back to normal by stopping the head vampire.  That's Ginela…all I have to do is kick her butt, then the girls will turn back!  At least, I hope they will…_  Narrowing her eyes, she said aloud, "Well, Buttercup…this is where all your movie experience is gonna come in handy…"  She set out across the house to gather what she needed for the attack.  It was going to be tough, but she knew it was the only thing she _could _do.  She had to hurry, though…her time was running out…

TO BE CONTINUED… 


	4. Chapter 4

Sisters of Night

By:  Mark J. Hadley

*          *            *

CHAPTER 4 

            _It's not much,_ Buttercup thought, _but it's better than nothing.  _She looked over the items she had collected…not everything she was looking for, unfortunately, and she hoped it would be enough.  She scooped up the two metal tent stakes that she found in garage…_perfect for Ginela_, she reasoned.  Tucking them away in her belt, she lifted the next item, tying it around her neck: a small string of garlic cloves.  She figured this should pretty well protect her.

            At least she _hoped_ it would.  She was only going off of legends and movies now, not actual fact.  However, it was all she had to go on, so she put her faith in it.  She couldn't find anything as good as holy water, though…she couldn't even find a cross, the professor being a man of science and all.  Still, she just decided that if it came to it, she could hold two of the stakes out together.

            She also had found a nice little UV lamp in the professor's laboratory.  Not as strong as sunlight, but it'd at least drive them back, she hoped.  Packing up everything, she picked up the last item on her list, examining it: a sharp, dagger-sized shard of Duranium she found in the lab as well.  The iron stakes would work on Ginela, but she needed this for the girls, just in case.  Taking a deep breath, she said aloud, "Only if there's no other way…" and tucked it into her belt next to the others.

            Buttercup glanced at the clock…fifteen minutes left.  _Well, it's now or never, _she thought.  Heading for the back door to sneak out, she prepared the rescue operation, hoping her determination would be enough to safely carry her through this…

*          *            *

            The night was deathly quiet as Buttercup made her way around to the back of Ginela's house.  She allowed a small smirk as she entered the backyard.  _Great,_ she thought, _they haven't seen me.  Maybe this _is _gonna work…_  She darted quickly from tree to tree in the back, until she finally made it up against the rear wall of the house.  Quickly, she gave a listen with her ultrasonic hearing to see if she could locate where they were inside.

            At first, she didn't hear anything, but then Buttercup caught the sound of the professor's voice, "She won't give up, not to you."  _Great,_ she thought.  _He's not far…_

            Ginela's voice followed, "She had better, if she expects to ever see you again…at least, as a member of the living."

            "You won't get away with it!"

            "But I already am, so what's the difference?"

            Buttercup narrowed her eyes.  _Well, I know where the two of them are, but what about Blossom and Bubbles?  Where are they?  I don't hear them…well, it doesn't matter, I have a window of opportunity and…_

            A stream of water suddenly sprayed into her from the side.  Buttercup was startled by it, holding up her arms in front of her face, sputtering, "Wha…??"  That's when she noticed Bubbles nearby…she had snuck up around the side of the house and was armed with a hose.  After spraying for a few more seconds, she shut it off.

            "There," she said, watching the soaked and thoroughly-confused Buttercup.  "That fixes things."

            "What do you…" Buttercup began, and then noticed something was missing: her makeshift necklace of garlic cloves had fallen apart under the torrent of water, lying in puddles on the ground.  Buttercup barely had time to realize this before Bubbles crossed the distance between them, slamming an elbow into her chin and sending her skidding back across the lawn.

            As Buttercup recovered, she thought, _Not good, not good!_  She quickly rolled to the side as Bubbles slammed feet-first into the ground next to her.  _Just use your instincts,_ she told herself.  _They may be stronger, but you're still a better fighter!  That's what counts!_  She got back to her feet and did a quick leap up into the air to avoid a punch from Bubbles, following up the leap with a strong kick to her head.

            It didn't do much more than send her off balance.  Buttercup took advantage of this anyway and flew past her on one side, swinging a fist to her back.  It knocked Bubbles off her feet, and she landed face-first on the ground.  Before she could get up, Buttercup dropped down and held her in place.  Even though it was a good grip that kept her from moving, Bubbles' immense strength nonetheless made it difficult to hold her there for long.  Acting fast, she slid a free hand to her belt, grasping the Duranium spike…

            _Wait, what are you doing?!_ Buttercup thought.  _That's a last resort, remember?  Ginela first, and if that doesn't work, _then _you have no choice…_  She replaced the spike and grabbed the back of Bubbles' head, pushing hard and ramming it into the ground.  It worked…it looked like she knocked her cold.  _At least for now,_ she reminded herself.  _She'll probably recover in a minute or t—…_

            Something hit her on the side of the head, hard.  The Duranium spike fell out of her hands as she tumbled out of control, right through the side of the house, crashing and skidding a few feet across the carpet before coming to a rest.  Groggily, she looked up and saw where she was, in one of the back bedrooms of the house.  As she started to get up, Blossom appeared at the hole she had just made in the side of the house.  "I should've known you try something like this," she said.  "No way would you just give in, _or _leave the professor in danger."

            Blossom drifted forward a couple of feet, and that's when Buttercup quickly pulled the UV light off her belt, switching in on and shining it at her.  Blossom yelped, averting her eyes from it and shrinking back.  It started to burn her skin just a little, and she quickly retreated back outside.  Buttercup let out a sigh of relief and switched the light off, heading in the opposite direction further into the house.  _Gotta get the professor, _she thought, _before one of them warns Ginela __I'm coming…_

            She slipped down the hallway, which lead to the living room.  Peeking around the corner, she saw that the professor was there, in the center of the room, tied to a chair.  Ginela was nowhere to be seen.  _Careful, it's got to be a trap, _she thought.  _She's probably nearby, and when you head out there, you're caught.  _Before she moved from her hiding place, she glanced around the room with her x-ray vision.  _No sign of her,_ she thought.  _Guess it's safe…I'd better move, then!  _Without any further hesitation, she dashed into the room to free the Professor…

            Something grabbed her by the neck before she was halfway across the room.  As she struggled in surprise, Ginela materialized from out of nowhere, smiling evilly.  "Surprised?" she asked as Buttercup continued to struggle.  "I have lived for over a thousand years, little one.  In that long I've learned more than a few things, including that it doesn't matter how strong _any_ mortal is…it cannot compare to my own power."

            Buttercup didn't wait for more…instead, she fired a point-blank blast of her eyebeams.  The attack, though it didn't hurt Ginela, startled her enough that her grip slackened, and Buttercup broke free.  Not wasting a moment, she grabbed the UV flashlight and switched it on.  Ginela cried out, covering her face, and ran to one side.  As she did, she faded from view, becoming invisible once again.

            Gritting her teeth, Buttercup tightened her grip on the flashlight, shining it around to all corners of the room.  _Where'd she go?_ she thought.  _C'mon, show yourself!_  She got more and more nervous as silence descended across the room again…the only sound she heard was her own breathing.  The light in her hands darted from place to place…she knew she was still out there, she had to be.  Unless, she retreated…but she knew better than that.

            As she slowly started to back up, Ginela suddenly materialized _above_ her, clinging to the ceiling.  In a quick swipe of her hands, bared in a claw-like fashion, the UV light was knocked from her grasp and struck the ground.  The casing broke, and the light shattered from the impact.  Buttercup flew back quickly as Ginela dropped from the ceiling, landing on her feet.

            Buttercup was starting to run out of options as she backed up against the nearest wall, and Ginela started to stride towards her slowly.  Buttercup reached onto her belt, taking a couple of her iron spikes out, holding them up in front of her like a cross.  "Back!" she shouted forcefully.

            Ginela just laughed, reaching out and grabbing the spikes from her hands.  As Buttercup stared back in shock, she tossed them aside and said, "You're a fool, Buttercup.  Even if that were a real cross, it wouldn't have worked.  It's the bearer's faith that drives back a vampire, not the holy symbol itself."  Noting the look on her face, she added, "Yes, it _is _hopeless for you.  Are you ready to surrender?"

            "N…no…" Buttercup said, slowly raising her fists.  She spoke with forced courage, "No, I'm not going down without a fight…"

            Sighing, Ginela said, "As you wish…"  Faster than Buttercup could even see, Ginela crossed the room, slamming a fist into her gut…she doubled over in pain and tried to back up, but Ginela had already grabbed hold of her arm and swung her overhead, throwing her into the far upper wall.  Buttercup snapped out of it just before she hit the wall and kicked off of it, launching herself back at Ginela instantly.  The move took her by surprise, but she _still_ managed to avoid the tackle, with a quick hop to one side.

            Buttercup took this opportunity to angle directly towards her and unleash a flurry of punches and kicks.  Though Ginela managed to block a number of the incoming blows, one good punch connected, knocking her off her feet and into a nearby couch.  As she paused to catch her breath, she thought, _What good is this gonna do?  You can't stop a vampire by fighting it!_  She glanced over to where her iron stakes had been tossed, and made a break for them, but Ginela was back on her feet and rushing for her again, ramming into her with her shoulder.

            The blow knocked Buttercup off-track, into the chair the professor was tied up on.  The chair fell over, smashing to pieces against the ground.  Buttercup was dazed from the fall, but when she noticed that the professor was now free of the chair, she quickly called out, "Professor, _run!_  Hurr—…"  That was as much as she got, before Ginela was on her again…slashing like claws, she raked her nails across Buttercup, who cringed as they struck her, leaving small cuts.  She wasn't invulnerable to her, and part of her knew that it was probably due to her being supernatural.  Probably why her fangs worked on Bubbles in the first place…but Buttercup didn't have time to think about it; she had her survival to worry about.

            She might not have to worry for long, though, because Ginela continued pummeling her relentlessly.  She was so _strong_ that Buttercup had a hard time putting up any kind of defense.  With a loud cry, Buttercup kicked both of her feet out, pushing Ginela away.  The kick sent her completely through the next wall…even though Buttercup was weak, and a little tired from the effort, she smiled.  As she tried to get her bearings, to find the iron spikes, she noticed the Professor had gotten away.  _Good,_ she thought.  _Maybe I can just go now…come back when it's daylight, and she'll have a harder time fighting me then…_

            As she started to get back to her feet, though, someone grabbed her from behind…actually, two people did.  Looking in fear, she suddenly realized that Blossom and Bubbles had both recovered, and now each had a hold of one of her arms.  She tried to break their grasp, but they held her in place.  Both of them smiled, and looked back at the hole in the wall…Ginela re-entered the room, still looking completely undamaged.

            "No, lemme go!!" Buttercup yelled, even though it wouldn't do any good.  The girls weren't listening to her.  Ginela took hold of both of her arms, and the girls flew back by her shoulders on each side, to watch.  Keeping Buttercup's arms pinned, Ginela turned her around, getting her into position to bite.

            "Don't worry, Buttercup," Bubbles said.  "You'll thank us when this is over."

            "Yes," Blossom nodded.  "The three of us will be together forever, at Ginela's side."

            Buttercup shook, and said, "I'd rather die!"

            "But I'm not giving you that choice," Ginela told her.  "Don't you see?  It's pointless for any one mortal to resist me, even if they are strong, like you…"  She slowly tilted Buttercup's neck and bore her fangs.

            "Yeah…well…" Buttercup said, scared, but trying to force confidence in her voice, "…y-you forgot one thing…"

            "What?" Ginela said, hesitating just before biting.

            Buttercup smiled a little, "I'm not the only mortal here…"  As Ginela blinked at the last statement, she suddenly jerked upright, as an iron stake pierced her through the back, emerging from her chest.  The girls turned to look in shock…the professor was behind her, having picked up one of the dropped stakes and snuck up on her while she was distracted.  Ginela let out a screech, clutching at the stake, but it was too late.  She fell to her back, and the girls each collapsed as well.

            The professor looked up at Buttercup and explained, "I thought you might need some help…"

            Buttercup, now free from her grasp, hovered over, looking at the professor, still slightly shaken by the close timing.  "Thanks, Professor…not a moment too soon, too…whew!"

            They both looked down at Ginela as she hissed, "Nooo…it can't…beeee…"  Her skin became mottled and gray, taking on the texture of charcoal for a moment, before her entire body crumbled away to dust.  The stake clanked to the ground, since it no longer had anything to hold it up.  Blossom and Bubbles both sprawled out on the ground as well, become still.  Buttercup bit her lip for a moment, afraid for a moment that maybe they wouldn't turn back to normal like she had hoped…but then, she saw the pallor fading from their skin and their eyes slowly starting to reopen.

            "Girls!" she exclaimed, scooping both of them up in her tired arms and giving them a hug.  "You're okay!"

            "We're…we're fine…" Blossom managed, but Buttercup thought she saw tears in her eyes.  "But I…I couldn't control…"

            "Me either…" Bubbles said, sadly.  "C-can you…forgive me…?"

            Hugging them tighter, Buttercup said, "Of course, I can…"  She had another thought, and added, "But…what about those people you…"

            "They'll be fine," Blossom told her.  "If they became vampires, they should be turned back to normal right about now, also."

             "Whew," Buttercup breathed, wiping off her forehead.  "That's good, 'cause I've had enough vampires for one night."  She winced, putting a hand over the cuts she received.

            "Let's get you home," the professor said, picking all three of them up.  As he headed for the door, he remarked, "Buttercup, I'm proud of you…having to face both of your sisters _and_ a powerful vampire by yourself."

            "Couldn't have done it without _you_," Buttercup reminded him.  "But yeah…I guess I did do pretty well, didn't I?  It's funny what you can do when you _hafta_ do it."  She took one last glance at the pile of dust, all that was left of Ginela, and said, "I guess we'll be getting new neighbors soon, then.  Hope they don't mind a little dust…"

            "_I'll _just be glad if they come out in the _sun _every once and a while," Blossom said.

            Bubbles looked out through the window and said, "Y'know…there's one good thing that happened…"

            "What's that?" Blossom asked.

            "I don't think I'm scared of the dark anymore," Bubbles answered, then added, "Well, as long as there are lights, anyway…"  She smiled as the professor finished carrying them out of the house.

            And the night was saved, thanks to the Powerpuff Girls…but mostly thanks to Buttercup!

THE END 


End file.
